Five tips on how mistakes become innovations

Mistakes happen all the time. Unfortunately, however, we focus too quickly and for too long on the negative consequences. In my opinion, it is better if a mistake is used as an opportunity to innovate. I explain how this can be achieved in the following five tips.

When an error occurs, it usually has consequences. These are mostly of a negative nature: you get angry and this worsens the general mood. In addition, one looks for a culprit or exposes the polluter.

In my view, however, this does not make sense. Because this hinders or even destroys a culture of creativity, willingness to take risks and ultimately innovative strength, especially in companies.

On the way to innovations: Dealing with mistakes differently

Of course, a mistake often has negative consequences, even if it’s just that you’ve wasted resources because a desired result wasn’t achieved. On the other hand, a bug is also a great way to enable innovation.

It ultimately comes down to how you deal with mistakes and their causes as well as the actual consequences.

Five tips on how mistakes become innovations

1. Separation of thing from person

Dealing with mistakes is often characterized by dealing with the person who made the mistake. A mistake then quickly develops into personal accusations against the person concerned.

Instead, it makes much more sense to concentrate on the “factual level of the error”. As a result, dealing with the error remains abstract and does not become personal. In addition, the objectivity when dealing with the error is impaired as little as possible.

2. Analysis of the causes

If the objectivity is guaranteed, the cause research can begin. Why did the error arise? Was the process too complicated, did controls fail, or weren’t all parameters that play a role known?

Of course, the parameters also include the employees involved in a process and their knowledge and skills. Were these suitable enough? The more mistakes happen – even if that sounds a bit strange now – the more causes you can identify and counter them.

3. Focus on solutions

If the causes of an error are known, the “blame game” should not start now. Rather, the error should be fixed. In addition, understanding the cause should lead to better handling of the overall situation.

Ultimately, it’s about making sure the mistake doesn’t happen again. In the worst case, looking for the culprit only leads to very long-lasting discussions. Concentrating on a solution and the resulting consequences leads to a learning effect in the company. And that’s what keeps the business going.

4. Address bugs

Dealing with mistakes, especially concentrating on the “positive aspects” of mistakes, should not ensure that a “laissez-faire” attitude towards mistakes is established in the company.

In the best case, mistakes don’t even happen because they are actively prevented. To do this, however, the conditions in the company must be clear and the limits of action must be known to everyone. Bringing everyone involved to a uniform level of knowledge is an important task. Above all, the company management must act as a figurehead and role model.

5. Open up spaces for experiments

Mistakes happen when people try things. Innovations also happen when people try something. If people can no longer try anything, then they will make fewer and fewer mistakes. On the other hand, innovations will also decrease more and more.

Companies therefore need “protected spaces” that allow for possible mistakes from the start and thus offer a platform to try things out. Organizations and companies must therefore find formats, processes or activities that invite people to try them out. At the same time, motivate them to try something that has never been done before, even if it is not clear whether it will work.

Or to put it another way: It must be possible to make a mistake without having to fear negative consequences.

Innovation comes from a mistake

Innovations are often the result of trial and error. So if it is possible to make experiments possible and thus allow errors, then this will create a culture in which companies try out new things, even if it is not clear whether the experiment will succeed.

But it is precisely this culture that makes new knowledge possible in the first place. The less room there is for experimentation, the fewer innovations develop.

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